Monday, September 22, 2014

The view from our hammock at the trailer. Taken a few weekends ago. No filter.

While it looks like we might get in one last weekend of decent weather at the trailer, Fall is definitely here in Ontario and we've had our heat on a couple of nights already. I can't help but think of how different next summer will be with Noah toddling about. I'm sad to say I didn't make it out in the canoe at all this year. This summer was all about muddling through with a newborn and a new job. I'm optimistic about what the Fall will bring for us. Fall always feels like a new beginning for me even though I'm not returning to school so it seems like a fitting time to check back in with my 2014 goals:

- I will find secure an meaningful employment. I am loving my job! Every day I feel challenged in a positive way. I've met so many wonderful people and can actually say I'd consider some of them as friends. I enjoy morning and afternoon coffee breaks with my coworkers. Many of them have kids around the same age or a little bit older so it is nice to hear their experiences and how they manage work/life balance.

- I will continue to pay off debt (at least $10,000) this year while at the same time taking a family vacation. Womp. Womp. Womp. If you've been reading my posts, you'll have noticed that I haven't been blogging monthly finance updates. Truth is, we've just been maintaining our debt payments and haven't been allocating anything extra really to debt repayment. Amid all the chaos of transition to our family of 5 and new job, something had to give. Unfortunately it was this. We did enjoy lots of family time together this summer at the trailer and are still hoping to plan a weekend getaway to Niagara Falls and Great Wolf Lodge this Fall. We're still plugging away at the debt albeit slowly. But I'm mostly happy that we didn't have to take on any additional debt this year.

- I will make our house a home. Over the summer I was able to tackle a couple of little painting projects around the house and this past weekend R fixed up our fence in a few places where the boards had broken or come loose. The baby gear is starting to make its way out of our house and I've been trying to do some much overdue purging which in itself will make our house feel more like a home since we're working toward only having things that we use and/or make us happy. Fall and Winter seem like a good time to make some serious progress in this area.

- I will make an effort to be healthy. I'm really excited about this goal because for the first time in 10+ years, I'll be doing an organized sport! When I was younger, I figure skated and also skated on a synchronized skating team for many years. I've signed up to skate on an adult synchronized skating team this winter. I'm looking forward to getting back on the ice. Otherwise, I'm still nursing and back in nearly all of my pre-pregnancy wardrobe. I'm going to try to get back to going to bed again around the same time as Noah. I've been staying up late many nights and have been feeling it through sickness and exhaustion. I need to make self care more of a priority.

- I will make an effort to focus more on extended family.

This one is tough. Throughout the year I wondered more about why I decided upon this particular goal. I think it was mostly out of an idealization of family. I think I'd like it to be instead "make an effort to focus more on important relationships and the people that matter". We have some friends that are like gold and some family members that could care less about how we're doing and vice versa. It can be so draining to focus time and energy on relationships that just aren't there. I want to surround our family with people who we care about and who care about us. These are the relationships I want to invest in.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Noah smiles, giggles, and coos constantly. He has the biggest smiles for me when I come home from work for lunch and at the end of the day. Pretty much the best feeling in the world.

He is very active. Tummy time is not his favourite and the amount of time he'll sit idle in a baby seat without fussing is getting less and less. He loves jumping like crazy in the Jolly Jumper and will spend about 5-10 minutes at a time in the exersaucer.

Nursing is still going well. I nurse exclusively when I'm home still and pump for when I'm at work. I've had a few setbacks where I've missed pumping/nursing sessions due to appointments or for whatever reason had longer periods of time away. This meant I fell short and we've had to supplement with a couple ounces of pre-mixed formula in my absence. A few times I've been so tired I've dragged my feet to pump and almost thrown in the towel but I'm so so happy I've been able to keep up the nursing relationship this long and am still planning on keeping it up for as long as we are both happy. I'll often nurse while eating at the kitchen table (hey, this mama likes to multi-task!), but lately Noah has been more interested in watching me eat than in nursing so I've had to switch to nursing him in quieter places with less distractions.

Sleep has gone a bit down hill. He'll still sleep long stretches at night but has been waking once or twice to eat. Not sure if he is just more hungry or wants the snuggles.

As for me, I've been recovering from strep throat this week. Last weekend Noah and I spent cuddling at home while I was sick and the rest of the boys were at the trailer. Overall, I feel so much happier and relaxed with Noah than I did after the other boys were born. I'm loving work. I'm loving time at home with the boys. I can go out and grab a few groceries in the evening or shower just after I put Noah down and not worry. Life is pretty darn great.

Every now and then my abdomen will feel uncomfortable but otherwise, I don't notice any weirdness or discomfort most of the time from my c-section. I had my follow up appointment with a urologist related to my complication and everything looks good with my kidney function. Oddly I felt a twinge of sadness at my most recent urologist appointment as it seems to be the last of the medical appointments I still have related to my pregnancy/birth.